Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2020-02-19

Pilot project for the free issue of environment friendly fertilizer to farmers from the 'Yala' Season of 2020

- At the Cabinet meeting held on the 02nd of January 2020, it was decided that a methodology should be formulated to induce the farmers to use high quality organic fertilizer. A Cabinet Sub Committee has been appointed to formulate such a methodology to submit appropriate recommendations in this regard. The Committee had pointed out that the standards relevant to the organic liquid fertilizer and bio-fertilizer should also be declared expeditiously, since the Sri Lanka Standard Institution has already declared the standards for organic fertilizer. At present, about 250 organic fertilizer producers are engaged in the production activities, Island wide and standard certificates have been awarded to 36 persons out of them.
Taking these matters into consideration, the proposal made by the Minister of Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation and Rural Development, to implement a pilot project by formulating a methodology to issue solely the environmental friendly types of fertilizer or the same mixed in due proportion with chemical fertilizer instead of chemical fertilizer free of charge as a subsidy for paddy and other food crops in several selected areas and to extend the said project further, based on the outcome after defining the productivity of same through application of the said fertilizer for a minimum of 04 seasons, in the areas where the pilot project is being implemented with a view to encouraging the farmers to use environment friendly fertilizer, was approved by the Cabinet.